Purpose: Chocolate goes well with many flavors, both sweet and savory. As well as the traditional sweet ingredients, sea salt, curry powder and even bacon can also be found in chocolate bars these days. In the spirit of these unusual creations, the purpose of this experiment is to pair chocolate with new and unexpected flavors in an attempt to discover which ones will provide inspiration to the chocolatiers of tomorrow.

Hypothesis: Some items will taste good coated in chocolate, while others will not.

The following ingredients will be tested in today’s experiment:

Gummy Bears: Will coating this fruity favorite in chocolate create a treat that’s twice as nice? Or will this portion of the experiment “bear”-ly make the cut? (This researcher apologizes profusely and promises to avoid attempting to make puns in the future.) This combination is the same as Muddy Bears, which Heather decided weren’t great but weren’t terrible.

Skittles (Original fruit flavor): Will “tasting the rainbow” still be as delightful an experience when that rainbow is smothered in sweet, sweet chocolate?

Cheetos Puffs: The researcher’s sister swears that in elementary school, Cheetos dipped in chocolate pudding were “like, the best lunch ever.” Will the experimental data support or refute these claims?

Broccoli: A nutritious vegetable, but, to some people, not a delicious one. By combining this healthy foodstuff with chocolate, can science create a treat that will convince kids (and maybe even former US presidents) to eat their greens?

Read More »

Share This

I am not going to lie to you: I am not a big gummi person. Unless gummi bears or their squirmy gummi worm cousins are coated in a thick layer of sour sugar, I’m usually not interested. So when I heard about Loud Truck Energy Gummies at the All Candy Expo, I was hesitant to try one, until someone on the floor said the magic words: “It’s like eating a bag of Red Bull.”

To some people, that statement would be terrifying. To me, it was a starter pistol that sent me racing over to the Loud Truck Energy booth to sample these mystical bears of energy and goodness. I love Red Bull, and most energy-fueled treats, so I was hoping that Loud Truck gummies would provide a new (and possibly cheaper) alternative to my beloved Red Bull fix. I instantly fell in love with them at the All Candy Expo, and couldn’t wait to review them once I returned home.

This morning at 8:00 am, I ripped open a new pack of Loud Truck Energy Gummies to start the day. Taste-wise, the gummies are quite good. The bears are firm but soft, with a nice chewy texture that doesn’t stick to the teeth. They have a subtle citrus flavor that gets stronger as the bear is chewed - a nice bite toward the end of the chewing process brings to mind a sip of Red Bull - a fizzy citrus taste that lingers after the bear is gone.

Read More »

Share This

As part of my job I have to travel to Florida several times a year. For someone who hates sun, sand, and heat, it isn’t exactly a dream come true. One of the few things that make the trips bearable are my mandatory excursions to Fresh Market and their gourmet candy section. On my last trip, I picked up a bag of Albanese Gummi Bunnies, intending to review them when I got back home to New York. They didn’t make it home; in fact, they didn’t even make it to the airport. They were that good.

So, to make up for it, I bought some Albanese Beeps on Amazon. They have served to reinforce my belief that Albanese makes some of the best gummies I’ve ever had.

Read More »

Share This

What better way to express your love of candy than with candy-themed furniture? Our friends at Jellio are at it again, busy working on a candy button bench (see below) - which looks suspiciously like a strip of candy buttons. Previously we wrote about their GummiLights range of lamps - they look like giant gummy bears but light up at night via small LEDs “in their butts.” Now available in seven colors, you can buy them individually or as a set of five.

The candy dork in me totally loves the things these guys come up with. All their furniture is based on images or items from childhood pursuits - from the Cupcake Seat to the Lite Table. They’ve also got a Candy Table - which unfortunately isn’t filled with candy (break glass for emergencies?) but instead with loads of plastic squirt guns.

Given that they make custom furniture, maybe we’ll have to convince them to fill those tables with some real candy - imagine it filled with Jelly Belly jellybeans! Better yet would be filling it with a whole selection of candy and then inserting a trap door whereby one could take out pieces to eat… uh-oh. Me thinks the IKEA el cheapo coffee table might be better for my waistline and my pocketbook (although certainly not as fun!)

• Jellio.com

Share This

Recently I called my husband at work and asked him the usual, “So, whatcha’ doing?” To which he replied, “Sorting gummy bears, actually.” Hmmm. On the one hand, not exactly being a productive employee. On the other, it was clear he had caught my candy-sorting disease! (CSD for short.) I’ve “suffered” from CSD for as long as I can remember. As long as the candy in question is small, has more than two colors, and is “sortable” by some means, it’s fair game. Skittles, M&Ms, gummi bears…you name it, I’ll sort it.

Pouring out the bag of treats, I first sort them into colour groups and then follow quite a complex eating method. Suffice it to say that it takes quite a while to get to the end of a bag! Over time I’ve met many people who have the same habit of eating candy in some sort of defined procedure.

Some are very obsessive about it while others just have small habits or rituals which they follow. My own case of CSD means that when I go to a party, the bowl of unsorted candy drives me slowly insane. I find myself literally itching to pour the bowl out and start sorting! It’s a killer for one’s social life, let me tell you.
Read More »

Share This

Being a typical guy, I probably give about half a second’s thought per month to hand soap. I’ve been using a seemingly endless bottle of Dial for probably the better part of a decade. Every time I go under the sink to refill the dispenser, there never seems to be any less than before.

I stumbled on these Gummi Bear soaps the other day and it actually made me want to wash my hands with one of these bears. Naiad, a user on Etsy (a site for selling handmade crafts) has mini Gummi Bear soaps for sale in her store.

The soaps, which are the same size as actual Gummi Bears, are even scented to correspond with the flavors they would normally be (i.e. whitish is pineapple, etc.). You get 25 tiny Gummi Bear soaps, in a bulk candy package, for only $5. You can’t go wrong at that price, though I’d be tempted to eat them, instead of washing my hands with them. Better keep them away from kids! Washing your hands before dinner is going to seem like dessert.

Naiad also has some chocolate-themed soaps like chocolate/coffee soap and chocolate/mint soap for sale too.

I just emailed her and she said she has lots in stock so if you want some and it says sold out, just contact her and ask about it.

• Naiad’s Shop on Etsy

Share This

YaYa Chou is an LA based artist whose recent work seems to be centered around Gummi Bears as a medium. She states:

The bright colors and soft texture of children’s snacks construct a romantic scenario which draws my attention to the dangerous ingredient behind them. By rearranging the embellished snacks in the forms of luxury commodity, I wish to pose the questions: Who consume these foods? Who has the choice to choose?

Since when are gummi bears “children’s snacks”? Us adults like them too! She’s made various objects out of Gummi Bears: the 4′ by 2′ chandelier seen above, a deer, a goat, and my personal favorite, the Gummi Bear Skin Rug. According to her own blog, the Gummi Bears would get soft in the L.A. summer, and harden again during the winter, but never actually melted. I would think the best part about making art out of gummi bears is being able to eat your mistakes!

• Yaya Chou’s Gummi Bear Sculptures [ via BoingBoing]
• Gallery show pictures
• Yaya Chou’s blog

Share This

Have you ever wondered where Gummi Bears came from? Those chewy and brightly colored candies are a staple in the candy world. To think I never gave their origins a second thought! This really interesting article gives an excellent history of this tasty treat.

Gummi Bear (or Gummibär: “Rubber Bear”) originated from German candy maker, Mr. Hans Riegel, whose humble beginnings were running a “mom and pop” candy store (the beginnings of Haribo) with his wife selling hard candies. Soon the two noticed that gelatin candy became popular and seriously considered making their own. Being progressive thinkers for their time, Riegel and his wife decided that shaping the gelatin candy would be a great way to appeal to the children who bought their candy. Molds of a dancing bear were created and history was made! The Gummi Bear was born and the future and fortune of Haribo was secured. All was not without stuggle though as the company went through hard times: during WWII and when Riegel passed away for example.

Aside from the history of the candy you’ll also learn lots of interesting little bits of trivia. For instance, where the name “Haribo” comes from, that bears are the most popular form of Gummi candy, and that originally two Gummi Bears sold for a penny.

• The History, Making and Influences of Gummi Bears
• Haribo Webpage

Buy Gummi Bears online:

• at Candy Direct
• at Old Time Candy
• at Amazon.com

Share This

Have you ever wondered just what exactly would happen to a gummy bear if you added it to a test tube containing heated potassium chlorate? I know I’ve been dying to know.

What, you don’t believe me? Ok, ok, you caught me. The truth is, I had no idea what the hell this was all about. Turns out, there’s a high school chemistry demonstration that shows how the sugars in a gummy bear interact with liquefied potassium chlorate to create a really cool flame-y jet looking thing.

I’m the first to admit that I’m not exactly a math and science type person. However, I’m fairly sure I would have remembered an experiment like this in either my high school or college classes, if only due to the scary fire it produces. I’m generally not a big fan of fire, but watching it online isn’t too bad!

Above you see a video of this chemical reaction using a gummi bear (poor bear!). Who’d have thought one little gummi bear could produce that much fire? Just remember kids, don’t try this at home!

Share This

I love candy, and I’m a big fan of all things Tolkien, so this project made me giddy with delight. It’s the climactic scene of The Two Towers, where Men defend the bastion of Helm’s Deep from horde after horde of invading Orcs. Missed Manners (with the help of a bunch of family and friends) recreated the whole battle in candy. I don’t quite know why, but do awesome ideas like this ever need a reason? It’s Tolkien! And candy! It’s both!

Gummi bears and Sour Patch Kids represent the bodies, Tootsie Pops represent the siege equipment, and Jolly Ranchers were stacked up to portray the walls. That one representative picture above doesn’t do justice to the entire sugary diorama. You’ve got to check out all the photos for yourself.

The Battle of Minas Tirith is on tap next. I cannot wait. Now I feel completely inadequate as a Lord of the Rings geek. What can one recreate with half a bag of Starbursts?

• Battle of Helm’s Deep - done in candy

Share This